During the day, Sean finished his work at the company and returned home soon after. He guessed that Jenna would be finishing college early as well, so he decided to go back and spend some time with her. Once home, he climbed the stairs and called out to Jenna, "Jenna ..."Esther was coming down the stairs. "Where's Jenna?" he asked his sister."I don't know, Jenna didn't go to class today!" Esther sighed.The words were ominous. How could Jenna miss class?When Sean thought about their sex last night, he thought maybe Jenna was exhausted and decided to rest. "Maybe she's sleeping. She must be tired," he said and went to Jenna's room.Suddenly Esther heard something fall to the floor with a loud thud.Sarah and Esther looked at each other, waited for a moment, and when they didn't hear a sound, they left in confusion. The door to Jenna's room was locked. They both listened for a while, then quietly pushed the door open and saw Sean sitting on the floor next to the bed, looking hagga
A man named Peter noticed that the woman sitting in front of him looked confused and sad! He went to the bathroom, and when he came out, he found the woman still there. So he asked in confusion: "Why haven't you left yet? Where are you going?"Jenna said: "I don't know.""You don't know?""I'm not from here, I'm here to travel."Peter was stunned. "Are you sure?" he asked. This was a small town in Canada, and judging by what Jenna had brought with her, it didn't look like she was here to travel. He looked at her bag and suddenly asked seriously, "Are you running away from home?"Jenna looked at him and didn't say anything."Where are you from?" Peter said unhappily, "You threw up on the plane. You're obviously not in the best of health and you're running away from home?""I didn't...""Did you know there are bad people even in the safest of places?"Jenna's eyes widened in surprise: Did he scare her?"I don't know what you're talking about, but can you recommend a cheap hotel?"Peter
Jenna's heart was pounding. She reached into her purse and fumbled around, thinking she could call 911 if anything happened. As she thought about the situation, she felt even more scared.She cried and wanted to die!The figure in front of her heard her screams, stopped and walked towards her at an accelerated speed.Jenna noticed it, took a step back, then looked at the hat that gave her a sense of security and suddenly opened her eyes wide. "Peter?!"Peter frowned and asked, "What's wrong with you? Why didn't you come home when it was dark?"Jenna looked at him, crying and even reaching out to hug him.Peter was stunned, unable to move: "You... What happened to you? Don't be afraid, I'm a cop, tell me!"Jenna cried even harder.Peter's mind was in turmoil. He hastily pushed Jenna away and helped her sit down on a lawn chair. "Tell me, what happened?" Jenna sobbed and said, "I got lost. I can't find my way back to my apartment..."Peter pulled on her arm and stood up: "You're still
"Taylor?" Jenna was taken aback and froze."Miss Jenna, you...""Sorry, I have to go." Jenna grabbed her kids and ran. She had to go now or... she couldn't imagine what would happen.Taylor stared after her, expressionless as ever.Just then, Rose walked up to Taylor and saw Jenna running away, so she quickened her pace. "Do you two know each other?"Taylor turned to her and calmly replied, "Yes," he took out his cell phone to text Esther and walked away. "Rose, let's have lunch."Rose was curious about Taylor relationship with Jenna, so she didn't refuse and asked Taylor to follow her: "Taylor, her two kids aren't yours, are they?""No." Taylor said calmly. After a pause, he turned and asked, "How long has Jenna lived here? Don't you know who the father of her children is?"Rose was also stunned for a moment and said: "I don't know. She rented an apartment from my friend Theresa, and Theresa asked me to let Jenna work in my shop. From the beginning, Jenna was close to a policeman nam
Jenna explained a little to Olivia. She lied, of course, and when her daughter fell asleep, Jenna continued packing.She frowned at her two children who didn't even know how to carry these clothes. It was hard enough for her to carry her two children with her own hands, how could she carry a suitcase? It looked like she would have to send it by express mail.The next day, Jenna went to get the money.Like before, she was afraid that Sean would check up on her, so she didn't dare use her bank card.But does he still care? Does she still have to be afraid to see him? No, Sean might not care about Jenna anymore, but if he ever found out that her flesh and blood lived outside, he would definitely take her. Jenna remembered that again. So she still had to go.Jenna also wanted to see Theresa. She was afraid that Theresa would come looking for her, so she had to say goodbye.When she sees Rose and tells her that she wants to quit. Rose was stunned and at the same time she thought of Taylor,
Esther and Jenna sat on the couch in the living room. Esther asked her what had happened during that time, and she told her only a few words lightly. But finally she said, "I got married..." After that she hung her head, not knowing how to explain and not knowing what Esther would think.Esther said, "You're married? To whom? But those kids are my brother's kids, right?"Jenna wanted to nod but didn't. Sean already had Charlotte, so she couldn't just nod her head. And even if Sean was still alone, she didn't know if he would accept the fact that Jenna had given birth to his child or not.Ester saw that she didn't answer, so she didn't ask again. She was silent for a moment, then she remembered something: "By the way, what are their names?""My daughter's name is Olivia and the boy's is Oliver.""What about the last name?"Jenna was stunned for a moment, recalling distant memories. Her smile faded and she said awkwardly, "I'd like to bathe my children first.""Go ahead, be my guest. Yo
"Come to my apartment quickly," Esther said hurriedly."I have to see Taylor first.""He's here too.""Why is he in your apartment?" Sean sounded annoyed. Why was his assistant in his sister's apartment?Esther was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing. I suddenly felt like eating pizza, so I asked him to buy it for me."Sean took a deep breath, held back his anger and said: "Esther! What else do you know besides eating?"Esther quietly hung up and called Taylor, "My brother just got off the plane. Call him and tell him something important is going on and ask him to come to my apartment right away!"Taylor thought, "You're really annoying!" But she called Sean anyway and told him that something was going on and that he needed to come over right away to deal with it.Esther hung up and suddenly wanted to eat Jenna's omelet. She ran back in and said to Jenna, "Jenna, please make me an omelet. I have missed your omelet for years!"Jenna laughed and replied, "Okay. Then let's go
"Mom..." Oliver comes over and asks Jenna. "Who is he?"Jenna came to, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away several times with her hands and looked at Sean, not knowing what to do.Esther was hiding outside the door, but suddenly she got a dangerous signal out of the corner of her eye, she pointed at the stove and said, "Fire, fire, fire..." If they didn't put the fire out, there would be a fire!Jenna turned around and immediately turned off the gas and pulled her children out. She didn't have time to ask Esther and said incoherently: "I'll go first! The food is ready, you can wrap it up and take it home!"Jenna didn't know where to go, so she walked around without direction and suddenly decided to go to Theresa's house.Esther saw her leaving and said to Sean, "You're not going after her?"Sean suddenly snapped out of his reverie and went out to follow her.Jenna was about to enter the elevator. Sean saw her enter the elevator with her daughter. He stood there for a
“Emily! She’s in the hospital!” Valeria gasped, her voice cracking. Her face went pale, and panic clouded her eyes. Ben froze for a second before grabbing her arm. “Let’s go,” he said firmly, pulling her toward the elevator. “Sorry, this is urgent. I’ll make it up to you another time. We have to go,” he told Esther and Carter over his shoulder. “It’s fine, go,” they said in unison, both stepping aside. Valeria’s fingers trembled as she jabbed the elevator button. When the doors slid open, they stepped inside. Just before they closed again, Valeria caught sight of Sean at the end of the hallway. His expression was unreadable—confused, maybe concerned. Only a second passed before the elevator doors sealed shut, cutting her off from him. A few minutes later, Valeria sat in the passenger seat of Ben’s car. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, heart pounding too hard for her to breathe right. It was a cold night. Ben glanced at her, trying to offer a sense of calm. “She’s going to be okay
“Hey!” Valeria greeted the handsome man in front of her with a friendly smile. He looked frozen. His eyes were on her, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. There was something in his gaze a mix of worry and fear that made Valeria uneasy. “What’s going on with you?” Valeria asked. “Jenna…” another man walked up and called out to her. Why does everyone keep calling me that? Valeria thought, frustrated. She let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes. “Sorry, but I’m Valeria, not Jenna,” she said sharply. “Who even is this Jenna, anyway?” Her head was starting to ache. She pressed her temples, trying to ease the throbbing pain that was starting to dig in. “Hey, it’s okay…” Ben whispered softly, his voice calm and soothing. His warm hand wrapped around her shoulder. “Take a deep breath, alright?” Valeria closed her eyes, trying to follow his instruction. She could feel the softness of the couch beneath her, the only stable thing in the middle of her emotional chaos. “Okay, sorry.
Jenna looked so innocent and beautiful that night. Her purple dress hugged her body gracefully, making her look like a teenager who had wandered into an adult party. Sean couldn’t take his eyes off her. He stood beside his mother, who was deep in conversation with an old friend, but he wasn’t paying attention at all. His eyes were fixed solely on Jenna. His jaw clenched when he saw a man's hand around Jenna’s waist. Without realizing it, his fists balled up. The urge to walk over and yank that hand away was strong, but he held back and just took a deep breath. When the hand finally dropped away, he exhaled too. A faint smile returned to his face. “What’s wrong?” Mrs. Veronica’s voice snapped him out of it. He quickly turned to her, trying to fix his expression. “Nothing!” he said quickly, not even sure what she was asking about. Mrs. Veronica raised an eyebrow, suspicious. But before she could press him further, Sean mumbled an apology and walked off toward the minibar. Away fro
Valeria muttered under her breath as another taxi zoomed past without even slowing down. “I seriously need to buy a car.” She’d been standing there for almost an hour, yet not a single empty cab had stopped.The cold breeze made her shiver. She hugged herself, regretting not wearing a sweater or something warmer. Her simple purple dress with black floral patterns looked cute, sure—but it was definitely not made for weather like this.“Maybe I shouldn’t have come at all,” she mumbled, staring down the empty street in frustration.She let out a long sigh. The baby shower still had to be attended, even if Ben had said she didn’t need to. Emily said the dress looked great on her, and Valeria couldn’t resist the idea of seeing that adorable little baby again.Suddenly, a car stopped right in front of her. She flinched, heart nearly leaping out of her chest.“Ben?” she gasped, placing a hand over her heart. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”Ben rolled down the window. “You need a ride, o
“Bye, kids!” Valeria called out, waving at them as they ran toward the school gate. They paused to wave back before continuing on. Once they were safely inside, Ben started the car and they headed toward the café. “You know, you don’t have to do this every day. I can get my own car,” Valeria said, staring out the window, fully aware of Ben glancing her way as they stopped at a red light. “So I’m supposed to risk losing you again? No thanks,” Ben replied as the light turned green and they drove on. This time, Valeria turned to look at him. “Come on, Ben. That happened months ago. I’m fine now, totally capable of driving myself. You can’t babysit me forever, you know?” she added, turning her gaze back outside. “I can, and I will,” Ben said firmly. The rest of the ride was quiet. When they reached the café, Valeria got out without saying a word and headed straight inside. He didn’t seriously expect her to never drive again, right? She let out a deep sigh, dropped her bag behind t
Ben walked up to her, smiling. She smiled back until she bumped into someone. She looked down and found the same little boy from the cafe. “Oh, it’s you!” she said, crouching. “Mom?” Oliver said with a big smile. The word made Valeria uncomfortable, and she glanced at everyone—especially Alexa. Alexa was right there, so why was the kid calling her “mom”? “Oh! You live here?” Valeria asked. The boy grinned, his missing front teeth making him look even cuter. “I went to Colorado with my dad,” he said simply. Valeria’s eyes moved to the little girl next to him. “And this?” “I’m Oliver,” the boy said with a proud smile. “And this is my sister, Olivia.” Valeria chuckled, remembering how adorable Emily and Ethan could be. “You can call me Val,” she told them. Oliver’s eyes shifted to Ben, who was standing beside her. “This is Ben,” Valeria added. Ben crouched beside her with a mock scowl. “Hey, bro,” he said, then winked at Valeria, making her heart race. Ben chuck
A woman walked, pulling her jacket tighter around her small frame as the cold wind hit her. The click of her boots on the floor was the only sound echoing through the space. She still couldn’t believe her eyes when she found out Jenna was alive. A year ago, she had felt so relieved, thinking she’d finally gotten rid of her. But now the girl was back— that annoying little thing who once clung to their lives like a parasite. The woman turned sharply left and stepped into a dark alley. The path was narrow barely enough for one person to walk through without brushing against the brick walls on both sides. The alley was long and pitch black, forcing her to squint and step carefully. Part of her grumbled at how she couldn’t see a thing, but another part was glad the darkness was hiding whatever creepy crawlies were on those walls. She shivered and almost screamed when something scurried across her $26,000 boots. A flickering bulb at the end of the alley gave her a target, and she ran to
Valeria walked into her apartment, struggling to carry Emily and Ethan who were fast asleep in her arms. "Thanks so much, Mrs. Smith," she said with a grateful smile to her neighbor, a woman in her mid-fifties who lived alone. "It's no problem, dear. You look a little busy," Mrs. Smith said, nodding toward the two kids. Valeria chuckled softly and nodded. "Good night, sweetie. If you need anything, just knock. I'm only a few steps away," Mrs. Smith added with a wink before heading back to her place. That was just the kind of woman. Mrs. Smith was the type who’d open the door with a baseball bat raised high, day or night, always cautious. But deep down, she was the kindest, most caring soul. Valeria smiled, remembering the night Mrs. Smith almost whacked Ben with her bat because Valeria had been late answering the door after a shower, and forgetful Ben had left his keys. Mrs. Smith thought he was a thief. Carefully, Valeria tucked Emily and Ethan into their beds. "Good
When she opened her eyes, she found Ben leaning against the balcony wall, arms crossed, smiling at her so softly it made her blush. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Ben chuckled, walked over, and gently lifted her chin, kissing the tip of her nose. "Because you’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen... after those two little monsters," he teased just as Emily and Ethan’s voices called out his name. Ben groaned while Valeria tried not to laugh. Ever since Ben had confessed his feelings, he never missed a chance to shower Valeria with affection. They spent the morning playing, filling the apartment with laughter that felt like music to Valeria’s ears. "Alright, kids, time to brush your teeth," she said, herding them away as she carried dirty plates to the kitchen. As she started prepping food for the kids, Ben leaned casually against the counter. "Who was on the phone?" Valeria asked. "Mr. Anderson. He invited us to dinner with hi